Gokongwei to acquire local RBS unit

MANILA, Philippines - Robinsons Savings Bank, the banking arm of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc., has acquired the Royal Bank of Scotland (Philippines) Inc. strengthening the Gokongwei-owned bank’s bid to upgrade into a commercial bank.

RBS Philippines holds a commercial banking license while RobinsonsBank has a thrift bank license.

No details of the acquisition amount however, were released. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the parent company of RBS Philippines, is one of the global financial institutions seriously affected by the financial meltdown last year.

In a statement, RobinsonsBank chairman Lance Gokongwei said the acquisition would allow JG Summit to get back into mainstream commercial banking again.

“The added franchise value of the commercial banking license will truly make RobinsonsBank the focus of financial synergy within the group,” he said.

The deal was sealed with a share-swap agreement between RobinsonsBank and the RBS Group last Wednesday. The completion of the acquisition, however, still hinges on regulatory approvals.

RobinsonsBank president and chief executive officer Reynold Gerongay said they will merge the savings bank and RBS Philippines into a commercial bank.

“We believe we can create more value for the group this way, as we can now maximize not only the opportunities within the group’s financial ecosystem, but also aggressively tap markets outside the group, given the additional products and services which commercial banks are allowed to offer,” he said.

RobinsonsBank presently has 51 branches nationwide, with more than half located within Metro Manila.

In the first three months of 2009, its assets stood at P12 billion while total capital was at P1.8 billion. It ranks among the top 10 thrift banks in terms of assets.

With the proposed merger, the new commercial bank will be the 14th largest commercial bank and 31st among all commercial banks and universal banks combined.